In Hue, Vietnam's former royal capital, it doesn't take a lot of money to dine like a king

Hue cuisine is often misrepresented as lavish dishes made from peacocks or phoenixes, reputedly served is the royal   court.   These   recipes   are imaginary. In reality, even at the most prestigious royal banquets dishes labelled "dragon" or "phoenix" were only steamed carps and braised chickens, decorated with foil fins, scales, tails, and coloured bamboo horns.

A meal in the royal palace could be as simple as that found on any commoner's dinner table, like fig salad and boiled vegetables, or river smelts braised in pepper and mint Emperor Thanh Thai's eldest sister was known to crave pickled shrimps, torn chua, which the grand princess shelled with her own fingers. Royal cookery put great emphasis on skillful preparation, nol on superfluities. Perhaps that's why court cuisine continues to influence private kitchens and traditional family restaurants in Hue today.

Most traditional restaurants in Hue are frugal, and quite often nameless. They include street vendors. After his hunting excursions Emperor Bao Dai (1925-1945) often enjoyed chicken congee from a street vendor's basket. Having recently had an opportunity to try the spare-ribs porridge at a nameless restaurant in the Thong Market area in An Ninh Ha Village on ibe outskirts of Hue, I understand the late monarch's proletarian delight

The restaurant rests at the foot of a flimsy wooden bridge, which crosses the Bach Yen (White Canary) Canal near Thong Market. The market was once known as Cung (Terminal) Market, since the canal ended here. Later, as Emperor Minh Mang (1820-1832) liked to come here to hunt canaries, the court connected fee Baeh Yen Canal with the Citadel's Guard Canal to facilitate the royal barge trips.

The owner and cook shyly replied that she did not know her restaurant's name. She said that at times she overheard people call it O Gai?s (Miss Girl) Restaurant. This restaurant's location is convenient for workers and drivers in the mornings and afternoons. At just VND4.000 per bowl, in another era O Gai?s porridge would surely have pleased the palate of finicky royal guests. The broth bears the honest taste of meat and bone. The semi-clear, reddish porridge contains fried chilli sauce, tenderly cooked spare ribs and slices of boiled pork heart, green scallions, coriander, and barely steamed onion slices. Like other people cooking traditional Hue congee, O Gai adds lotus seeds from Tinh Tam Lake to enrich the dish's flavour.

Field duck congee is served at a frugal restaurant at 86 Bui Thi Xuan Street near the Lon Bridge. The congee here is cooked in the traditional way with scallions, lotus seeds and chilli. The taste is honest, yet the rich flavour of beef stock is replaced with the gamy taste of fresh field duck. Hue people eat their boiled duck with lettuce, mint, and especially with thinly sliced cucumbers, green bananas and figs. Thuan Restaurant is known for its dipping sauce, locally called nuoc leo - a mixture of bean sauce, duck broth, sugar, chilli, ginger and peanut puree that is boiled until thickened. After frying the congee and boiled duck here, a friend from the American embassy in Hanoi suggested that the owner bottle the sauce for export.

The dishes on the emperors' dining tables were very small, and the bowls in Hue's simple restaurants remain similarly humble. After the congee, guests will still have room for other local culinary specialties, like banh khoai, or egg ternpura crepes. This traditional and very popular crepe can be found everywhere in Hue. Banh khoai restaurants near the Thuong Tu Gate and in the Citadel have long been famous, but most